Game apparatus.



H. G. BARRETT.

GAME APPARATUS. APPLICATION rmm 11011.21, 190s. nmwnwnn we. so, 1910.

Patented Nov. 8, 1910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

11, G. BARRETT.

I GAME APPARATUS. APPLICATION IILED NOY. 21, 1908. RENEWED AUG. 30,1910.

Patented Nov. 8, 1910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

H e. BARRETT.

GAME APPARATUS. v AIILIOATION 31mm NOV. 21, 1908. RENEWED AUG. 30, 1910.

Patented Nov. 8,1910,

3 SHEBTSz-SHEE'I' 8.

HAROLD G. BARRETT, OF WILMETTE, ILLINOIS.

AI'PARATUS.

Specification or Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 8,1910.

Application filed November 21, 1908,Serial No. 463,859. Renewed Augustso, 1910. Serial Ho. 579,749.

which the following is a specification.

The object of the present invention 1s to provide a game apparatus forindoor use which can be employed for playing a game having all of thecharacteristics of.the outdoor game of base ball. Thus a board usedmarked off into a diamond and outfield with foul territory, andmechanical devlces are used to represent the fielders, basemen' andpitcher and catcher and the arrangement issuoh that a ball can bemechanically delivered and if struck by another mechanical devicerepresenting the batsman it may or may not be caught or fielded bylodging in one or another clip or pocket suitably designated to indicatethe play. The pitching apparatus is such as to enable the playermanipulating the same to vary the delivery of the ball and suit-ableprovision is made for the catching of the ball as it comes over the homeplate straight or at varying angles or curving. The batting device willbe under control of the other person playing the ame and will be soarranged as to provide ior his exercising judgment in the manner ofoffering at the pitched ball, according to his estimate as to whether ornot it is going to cross the plate and, if so, how, and also to providefor calculating to meet the ball sooner or later, in its approach tovary the direction in which to drive it and further to provide forvaryingthe force of impact to get difi'erentresults between a slow roll,corresponding with what is termed in the outdoor game laying down abunt, and a hard drive. Suitable inscriptions will be employed on theboard to indicate the. fielding positions and how many bases are toresult from a ball escaping all of theclips or pockets which representthe fielders or basemen. The, bases will of course be indicated at thecorners of the diamond and ifdesired playing pieces may be used torepresent runners.

In the drawings which accompany and form -part of this specificationFigure 1 represents a plan view ofa game apparatus constructed inaccordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a plan View on anenlarged scale of devices used in the shortstop position; Fig. 3 is aperspective view on an enlarged scale showin similar devices used at thesecond baseman?s position; Fig. 4 is a central longitudinal section ofthe apparatus shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a partial bottom plan view;Fig. 6 is an enlarged section of some of the devices which appear on asmaller scale in Fig. 4; Fig. 7 is a crossse'ction on the line 77 ofFig. 6; Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6; Fig. 9

is a perspective view of one member of the baseball playing. field knownas the diamond, squares being provided at the corners thereof torepresent first base, second base and third base as indicated in F ig.1, the

home. plate being similarly illustrated as a limited. laterally definedarea though of The base lines somewhat different outline. will beindicated as illustrated by full and dotted lines I) and c in Fig. 1 andthe area-0f the infield-as by shading d as well as spaces backof firstand third bases representing the coachers boxes as by shading e Lines fare marked as extensions of the first and third baselines todivide foulfrom fair territory and the, foul territory is .appropriately indicatedas upon the drawing. The pitchers "box is represented at the center of.the infield and apparatus is located at this point both to provide forthe deliveryof" the'ball and for the fielding of the ball. The balldelivering apparatuscomprisesarod g on the under side of the board (seeFigs t and 5) pivoted as at g to have a limited-movement sides wise.This rod is shown as a length of tubing and is vertically slotted as at9 (Fig. 6) to accommodate an arm k which is pivoted .to the rod or tubeand extends up through a slot it, in the board A. ,This arm has aforwardly-directed head-piece 71 which is adapted to strike the ball anddrive it to ward the home plate, said head-piece being tipped withrubber as by'having a band hstretched around it. Normallythe arm isretracted, being connected by an elastic band It with a forwardprojection on the rod or tube g. A cord or wire 2' connected to thelower end of the arm and to a fingerplece or trigger 2" near theextremity of the rod g, provides for swinging said arm it in oppositionto said elastic band.

At the front of the slot it there is fitted a piece j with a portionproviding an abutment for the arm 71. and a portion set into the top ofthe board A and grooved longitudinally'in its upper side as shown at j.The

'ball I; is placed in this groove to be struck by the head of'the arm k.If the latter was to strike the ball always squarely in the middle sucha groove might not be necessary but it is intended to provide forcurving the ball by striking it to one side or the other of the centeraccordin to the will of the player. The pivoting of the rod 9 providesfor this, its front portion being confined by a guide is which permitssufficient latitude of lateral movement. The extremity of the rod has ahandle 9 and the player by taking hold of.

said handle can shift the rod as desired, at the same time having afinger on the trigger i. It will be obvious that the delivery of theball can be varied both by reason of varying the point of impact and byvarying the force applied to the arm or varying the speed of movementthereof. F nrthermore,

the ball can beplaced at different positions in the groove 9 and thedelivery of the ball affected thereby. The desirability of the groovewill be apparent when it is considered that in-many instances the ballwill be struck to one side of the center and at the same time should be"projected toward the homeplate and not sidewise. It should be noted inthis connection that the actin portion of the arm 71. when it strikesthe bal b is moving toward the board. This is practicallyessential tothe accomplishment of the result of causing the ball to curve on thesurface of the board. When theacting portion of the arm strikes the ballthe board or the piece j set in the board, offers sufficient resistanceto prevent the ball being simply pushed off to one side, the sides of.the groove j constraining the ball to first move toward the home plate.Of course when the ball is struck to one side or the other of the centera twirl will-be imparted to it which, as the force impelling the balltoward the 'home plate diminishes, will cause the ball to curve on thesurface of the board. By varying thepoint at which the arm strikes theball,

and the force of'the blow, varying effects can be produced in thedelivery of the ball, such as different directions and different degreesof mrving. In such case the point of impact fof the rubber-tipped end ofthe pitching arm is in rear of a vertical central transverse plane ofthe ball and to one side tin will plate as indicated by dotted lines inFig. 1.

or the other of a vertical plane at right angles thereto, above ahorizontal central plane of the ball, and the line or plane of movementof said tipped end if projected would intersect the surface of the boardor of the' ball-rest at or near a point where the ball is in contactwith. such surface. (In the 'appended'claimsthis characteristic is Whatis meant by the phrase movable toward the surface of the'boardillf Thisinvolves the. principle of the. so-called masse shot inbilliards, wherethe cue is directed downward toward the table and the cue-ball struckforcibly at such a point as above defined butvarying laterally toproduce varying familiar effects in curving the ball on the surface ofthe table.

One form of batting apparatus here shown comprises a rotary post in(Fig. 10) in a suitable-bearing or socket m extending through the boardA and secured thereto, a -horizontally-extending member at integral withthe post mor appropriately secured thereto and preferably Inadein theform of a base-ball bat, and a depending arm m at the outer end of saidmember m and extending to within a very short distance of the topsurface of the board A. This batdevice is so located that the portion atswing across the center of the home The horizontal portion at extends onboth sides of the vertical member orpost m as shown and I have foundthat this form of batting device can be best controlled by applying thefirst and second fingers on opposite sides of the pivot in front of thehorizontal portion m and the thumb on the rear side of the latter, aboutat the pivot point. This affords a delicate control of the freelyoscillating batting device which is quite important considering thedesirability of obtaining results as varied as those produced by the useof the bat in the hands of the player in the outdoor game, and as nearlyas possible simulating the outdoor effect. To limit the swing of the batthere is secured to the lower end of the post m an arm m" which has ablade m at itsextremitv adapted to strike against buffer pieces nsecured to the under-side of the board A, though this is not anessential feature and can be dispensed with altogether leaving thebatting device without limitation as to swing. In the modification shownin Figs. 12 and 13 a yoke 0 is mounted on the board A and thebat 0' ismounted to swing in a vertical plane on the horizontal home .plate arearranged a number of lodg-- of an of the clips will count as whenpassing to one side and a passed ball strike-out is present.'Furthermoret, ttlhe Lbjltla tus thou h it may mee 1e hill? iiiit siinieet it that the ball Wlll batted into foul territory and of cour e thedirection the ball goes;1n fair teriig tory will vary accordmg to the pont-Halt which the batmegt-s 1t. There is thus c element of c ance in vbill will take as in an actual game of. base ball. Then of course theball may go w de of the plate,-

e., may not cross any portion of it, and so provision is made forcountmg balls, as distinguished from p and also for calling a passedball or a F wild pitch, as when the ball is not caught after passing theplate. Furthermore, it is intended that should a the pitching apparatusstrike the uprlght )ortion or iidered as having been hit by a pitchedball and entitled to take first base. The force with which the ball goesfrom the bat will of course vary according to-how soonthe ball is metand how fast the bat, is moved or in whatmanner. I

Behind the batting apparatus and the merits in the form of spring clips0,- one Idlrectly in line with the center ofthe home plate for thelodgment of anyball which comes over the plate and is not offered at bythe batsman-or. if offered at 1s m1ssed. Then on each side of saidcentral cllp there are clips 0 for the lod lgment of balls which o wideof the plate. inscribed with the word Ball and the central clip with theword Str1ke, but of course if a ball lodges in one of the clips 0 afterthe batsman has offered at 1t it will count as a strike. A ball whichgoes outside a wild pitch when assin to the other side. Clips d arelocated in fdiil territory on both sides of the home plate for thelodgment of the ball when not met squarely by the bat. This occurrencewould count the batsman out on a foul. Of course if the ball goes intofoul territory but does not lodge in a chp, then the batsman is not outbut merely has a strike called unless he already has two strikes. It isintended to cover the area of the \nfield and the out-field with similarclips to practically the same extent that the fielders and basemen inthe regular outdoor game will cover ground. Thus two cl1ps e are locateda distance in from first base and similar clips 6 are located to theright of second base and another pair of clips 6 to the'left of secondbase and then a pair of cllps e a suitable distance in from third base.In addition to this, clipsp are located on' e1th er side of the pitchingapparatus. Thus it will be seen that there are ten clips in whlch a ballmay lodge to indicate an infield play.

the direction the n delivered f o .lessened. As here shown two part mthebatsman is to be conpairs of clips 8 and 8 are locate 'from the centrallongitudinal line. of the hese clips are shown "These. clips may bedifferently inscribed to vided with clips,'there being preferably ourfor each fielding position though of course this number may be increasedif desired or airs-of clips are employed for each fielding position,

spaced a considerable distance apart. Thus a pair of clips 1* will belocated in right field close to the foul line and another pair of clips1" in a line from the home plate-midway between first' and second basefielding positions. For the center fielddaosition two equidistant field.The arrangement of the clips I? and-t to first base.

for the left field position is similar to the arrangement of the clipsfor the'ri 'ht field position. Around the edge of theboard A back of theoutfield there is preferably. a; subdivision of a marginal area and inthe different spaces there are inscriptions which govern the number ofbases to be taken ac-- cording to. where the ball first lands when itstrikes the rim of the board. Thus a ball passing the pitchers box andgoing over second base and between the pairs of center field clips landsin a space marked Home run and entitles the batsman to circle the bases.Other subdivisions of this marginal area are marked to indicate basehits, two

base hits and three base hits. Further provision may be made for homeruns by locatingin the outfield at one or more places inclines w which,if the ball happens to run onto the same, will cause it to clear the rimof the board.

It will be obvious without further description that an apparatusconstructed as above described provides for the playing of a game whichwill be governed by the same rules as the familiar outdoor game of baseball.

Any suitable form of loose playing pieces can be used to represent baserunners and these will be moved about according to, the familiar rulesof the game.

It is to be understood that the form of the Various members of theapparatus, the relative arrangements, the combined action, and themanner of inscription of the board, are things which can be variouslyaltered as compared with what is here specifically shown and described,without necessarily departing from the spirit and scope of the in- 'vicemovable toward the surface, 0

1. In game apparatus, the combination ofa suitable board, and aball-delivering device movable .toward the surface of the board andadapted to strike the ball to one side; substantially as and for thepurpose described. I

2. In game apparatus, the combination of a suitable board, and aball-delivering device tipped with friction material and movable towardthe surface of the board and adapted to strike the ball to one side;substantially as and for the urpose described. 3. In game apparatus, t ecombination of a suitable board, and a ball-deliverin deboard andadjustable to strike the ball at different points; substantially as andfor the purpose described;

4. In' game apparatus, the combination with a board having a groovedball rest, of

a ball-delivering device movable toward the surface of the latter andada ted to strike the ball to one side; substantia ly as and for thepurpose described.

5. In game apparatus, the combination of a suitable board having agrooved rest for a ball, and ball delivering means comprising an armoperating back ofsaid rest movable towardflthe surface of the board andlaterally adjustable to vary the point of impact against the ball;substantially as and for the purpose described.

6. In game apparatus, the combination of a suitable board, a balldelivering arm movable toward the surface of said board, and

a support for the arm adjustable laterally.

to vary the point of impact of the arm against the ball; substantiallyas and for the purpose described.

7. In game apparatus, the combination of a suitable board having agrooved ball rest, a ball delivering arm back of said rest and movabletoward the surface of the board,

and a support for said arm adjustable laterally to vary the point ofimpact against the ball; substantially as andv for the purpose j a boardhaving a journal bearing or socket,

described.

8. In game apparatus, the combination of a board having an opening; aball delivering arm projecting through said opening; a swinging rod onwhich said arm is pivoted;

the

, a board suitably means for retracting the arm; and means for advancingthe same.-

9. In game apparatus, the combination of a suitable board, and a balldeliverin device movable toward the surface 0 the board and adapted tostrike the ball to one side, combined with a batting device, the boardbeing marked with an area over which said batting device works.

10. In game apparatus, the combination of a suitable board, and a balldeliverin device movable toward the surface 0 the board and adjustable.to strike the ball at different oints, combined with a batting device,the oard being marked with an area over which said batting device works.

11. In game apparatus, the combination of a suitable board having agrooved rest for a ball, and ball delivering means comprising an armoperating back of said rest movable toward the surface of the board andlaterv 12. In game apparatus, the combination of a board having aplaying surface with a de- 'fined'area indlcated thereon, balldelivering and twirling means on one side of such area,

and a (group ofball lodgments on the opposite si e thereof distributedtransversely of the-board. I

.13, In game apparatus, the combination of marked off to represent abaseball field; a batting device; lodgments for the ball locatedvariously over the board; and one or more inclines for the ball to runover when clearing the lodgments.

14. In game apparatus, the combination of a board suitably marked off torepresent a baseball field; ball delivering means; a batting device;lodgments for the ball located variously over the board; and one or moreinclines for the ball to run over when clearing the lodgments.

- 15. In game apparatus, thecombination with aboard and meansfor-projecting an object over the surface thereof, of a freelyoscillatory batting device comprising an upright portion journaled onthe board, a horizontal portion extending on opposite sides of theupright portion, and a striking portion extending at right angles tosaid horizontal portion to one side of the upright portion,

the latter constituting a handle.

i the horizontal portion to the other side of' 16. In game apparatus,the combination of both sides of said upright portion, and a strikingportion projecting from said horizontal portion toward the board to oneside of the uprightportion, the horizontal portion to the other side ofthe latter consituting a handle.

17. In'a toy base-ball game apparatus, the

ball will have a separate significance in the scoreof'the game.

18. In a toy baseball game apparatus, the combination of a board havinga playing surface with a defined area outline thereon to indicatethehome plate, means for projecting aball over such surface toward saidhome plate, and a group of lod ments for such ball. arranged traisversely o the board back of said home plate, one of said lodgmentsbeing .directly back of the plate and one or more being arranged oneither side thereof, said ball lodgments being separated from each-otherand each lodgment having associated with it an inscription to indicatethe character of each pitched ball, so that each pitched ball will havea separate significance in the score of the game.

19. In a toy base ball game apparatus,the

combination of a board suitably marked off I torepresent a base ballfield, a ball delivering device, a batting device at the home plate, anda series of devices representing fielders distributed about the fieldand each consisting of a ball catching and clamping means, said .meansbeing transversely arranged with respect to the field to enableeachplayer to receive and hold the ball when projected from the battingdevice into the field on different lines radiating from the home plate,each clamping means having associated with it a plurality of exposedinscriptions indicating the plays that that player is usually capable ofmaking in a' regular game, for the purpose set forth.

20. In a toy base ball game apparatus, the combination of a boardsuitably marked off .to represent a base ball field. a ball deliveringdevice, a batting device at the home plate, and a series of devicesrepresenting fielders distributed about the field and each consisting ofa ball catching and clamping means, said means consisting of a series ofseparate clips transversely arranged with respect to the field to enableeach player to receive and hold the ball when projected "from thebatting device into the field on different lines radiating from the homeplate, each clamping means having associated with it a plurality ofexposed inscriptions indicating the plays that that player is usuallycapab e0f making in a regular game, for the purpose set forth.

HAROLD Gr. BARRETT.

Witnesses:

ROBERT DOBBERMAN, LOUIS B. Enwm.

